


Donkeyskin

by TakeACookie1



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: A runaway Princess, Adventure, Angst, Eventual Romance, Evil step father, Magic, Other, Storybrooke
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-11-27
Updated: 2019-01-26
Packaged: 2019-09-01 07:27:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 8,329
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16760668
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TakeACookie1/pseuds/TakeACookie1
Summary: Princess Elise runs away from her kingdom after her mother's death and her step father proposal to her, in order to stay the king. While she established herself in a forest, away from her problems, a man appears, the Dark One or Rumpelstiltskin as he calls himself. She strikes a deal with him and plan to take her kingdom back. In Storybrooke, Elise Valois tries to get away from her step father and met Regina Mills, who hire her as Henry's babysitter.





	1. Chapter 1

Elise was concentrating on her drawing, Arnaud behind her, sometimes looking at over her shoulder to see what she was doing. He smiled when he recognizes some people from the court, her mother, him and her step father. The little girl was trying hard, her tongue sticking out from her mouth, which made him chuckle.   
“Will I train today?” She asked suddenly.   
“If your mother wants to, then yes.” Arnaud answered. “After all, she’s the queen and I do as she says.”  
“Why are you so loyal to her?”   
Arnaud smiled softly, remembering how him and the queen met, a long time ago on a battlefield.  
“It’s a story for another time, my lady. Now, how about we go to the throne room and show your parents your beautiful drawing?”  
The girl nodded eagerly and once on her feet, started to run, Arnaud close behind her. They greeted the servants and the guards on the way and stopped when they heard shouts in the throne room. The man entrusted the child with a young soldier while he reached for his sword. A older nobleman walked toward him, a sad smile on his round face.  
“No need for this, Derivière. Nobody is murdering the queen.”  
“What is happening, Toutgent?” He asked.   
“Just a little argument the queen is having with the king. He wants more powers, and she does not want to give him what he wants.” The older man elaborated while staring at the double wooden doors.   
“It’s happening more frequently.” Arnaud noted.   
“I’m worried, Arnaud.” Toutgent whispered. “I heard some people talking about a rumour, that the queen is cursed, a curse casted years ago. But let’s not talk about that here, join me tonight at my desk, I will be here. For now, I guess the little one want to see her parents.” He finished looking at the princess walking toward Arnaud.  
The older knight nodded and took her small hand in his big one.   
“Come on, my lady. I’m sure your parents will like what you have done.”  
When they entered, the two noticed the broken vases on the floor, that one maid was cleaning up. Tension was still in the air and Arnaud noted that everybody in the room, including the guards, were looking uneasy. The queen was still red of anger while the king had one big slash on his cheek, that would leave a small scar surely and a black eye. However, when the couple both saw the young princess, hurriedly walking toward them, a paper in her hand, they both smiled, as if nothing had happened.  
“What did you draw, my child?” The king mused, watching Elise sat on her mother’s knees.  
“I drew you papa! And maman too! As well as Arnaud, monsieur Toutgent, madame Valérie and the guards and the knights that play and spare with me when I’m training!” She explained with a big grin.  
“That is very nice, Elise!” The queen said, kissing her daughter’s head. “I will keep the drawing and put it in a frame.”  
“Thank you maman!”  
“No, thank you dear. Now, I am sure that it’s training time.”  
The girl grinned and jumped from her mother’s keen and ran toward Arnaud. The latter bowed and exited the room, the maid who was cleaning closely after. The young red haired woman sighed and mumbled:  
“I thought they were going to kill each other.”

Ten years after…

Elise darted toward the knight on her left, her two swords raised. She blocked the spear of the man before striking him in the rib with the pommel of one of her sword. The young dark haired boy flinched and fell to his knees. The teenager snickered before attacking one of the young knights on her right. The boy backed up, his shield raised to protect himself but he should knew better: she made him trip and the poor boy fell, first head in the mud.   
“Stop! It is enough!” A severe voice said.  
The princess turned around to see Arnaud approaching. The boy in the mud slowly raised and bowed his head when he saw his mentor. The other one did the same but Elise, her, did nothing.  
“How was I?” She asked, a smile on her face, expecting him to say well from how hard she trained and how she successfully defeated all of her enemies.  
“You’re like a buff.” He replied, palping the ribs of the dark haired boy. “Don’t forger that those young boys in training will become your personal guards, you don’t want them to hate you already, do you?”  
“It’s alright, monsieur Derivière.” The boy with muds on his face said. “We are used to it now. And a queen needs to know how to defend herself on a battlefield.”  
Arnaud stopped what he was doing and turned to the boy. War was a subject he hated, as well as nearly everybody in the kingdom. The last war, yes they won it, but many people have died and he saw horrors he wish he never saw.   
“Thomas, what did I say about that?”  
“That they would be no war, never again.” The boy said.  
“Exactly.”  
“But what if there is one?” The other one asked him.   
“We will win it, like we had always done in the past.” Elise answered him, staring at Arnaud.  
“Thomas, Jacques, go clean yourself and your armours.” The man ordered.   
The two boys looked at each other and walked away, sending toward the princess a look of sympathy and compassion. The young woman sighed, knowing what Arnaud will say to her.  
“If there is a war, you will avoid it, you will find a way. Maybe marry the son or daughter of the king or queen that want to battle against us.” The older knight talked to her, growling a bit.  
“I know but we can’t always use diplomacy every time! We look like cowards!” She exclaimed.  
“Yes and it’s better that way!” The man shouted.  
“No it’s not! Arnaud, do you think I’m so blind?” She said to him, annoyance and frustration in her voice. “I know that the kingdom of Agrabah wants to attack us! I know that they don’t want to talk, they just want to fight and to crush our kingdom! You know deep inside you that diplomacy won’t work.”   
Arnaud seemed stressed and worried and he sighed angrily. The princess stopped talking, knowing that angering him more will not change his mood nor his point of view. He turned to face her once again.  
“The queen will decide on that. Anyway, she wants to see you.” He softly said to her.  
“Is she feeling better?”   
“I… I can’t answer you. But you really need to get there and quickly.”  
Elise understood. She sheathed her swords in their sheaths tied behind her back with leather straps and started running toward the castle.  
“Mother!”  
The woman was lying in bed, white as the snow, and she looked tired, with red eyes. Elise stopped breathing, she understood that her time was coming to an end. The queen smiled when she saw her only child and signalled her to come. The princess sat on the soft mattress and looked at her mother with a sadden look, tears threatening to fall.  
“Do not cry my child.” She croaked. “I don’t like when you make this face.”  
“But maman, you are dying…” She started to cry.  
“Yes… It is right. And then, you will take my place, as the queen of the kingdom of Frenkilan.” The mother said.  
“I can’t do it, maman. I can’t…” The teenager sobbed. “I don’t know how to handle this… Why not let Yves led the kingdom?”  
The woman gazed at her, an incredulous look on her face. She sat on the bad and took her daughter by the shoulders, staring deeply into the dark green and brown orbs of the young girl, the same she has.  
“Listen to me very carefully Elise, no man has ever rule over this kingdom. Never. And you should never let one rule. Do you understand me?”  
The princess nodded quickly and hugged her mother, who stiffened immediately.   
“You need to go to your afternoon lessons.” The sick queen told her.  
“But maman…” She whined.  
“No but, go. You will need all the knowledge to rule, my precious little one. And do not skip them. I know you have been sparring with Jacques and Thomas. I want you to be the wisest queen Frenkilan never seen.”   
Elise stood up grudgingly but kissed her mother on the cheek. The latter closed her eyes and the young princess, soon to be queen, went out of the bedroom. Her footsteps echoed in the corridor in a deadly silent.


	2. Chapter Two

Donkeyskin

Chapter Two:  
Elise stood in front of a window, staring at the people down below, putting candles, drawings and flowers on the steps of the castle, as a tribute to the fallen queen. She gulped when she heard “The queen is dead! Long live the queen!” on the streets. She turned to a maid and asked her to drawn back the velvet curtains. She couldn’t stand this view, she didn’t want to hear that cursed sentence, she didn’t believe that her mother was dead. But she was here when she fell into an eternity sleep. The teenager sat on a chair and sighed, her hands on her lap. She wasn’t ready to be queen, she was too young, she didn’t had enough experience.   
Someone knocked on the door and the maid opened it, revealing her step father, dressed in his fine yellow outfit, without his crown. Yves entered and ordered the maid to leave, saying he wanted to be alone with his step daughter. The young woman bowed and excited the room. Elise watched her leave, emotionless, lost in her thoughts. The ancient king steeped toward her.  
“You are still in your funeral dress, Elise.”   
The girl frowned. This was unusual. He never called her Elise, only “my child” but she brushed it off. It must be because he didn’t felt as her father anymore, but she only knew him that way.  
“Yes, I can’t find the force to change back. I can’t believe it. I can’t believe maman is dead.” She murmured.  
“Indeed. It’s very… unfortunate.” Yves said, in a strange tone of voice.  
“I can’t be queen, papa. I can’t. I asked maman if you could reign at my place…” Yves tensed up. “But she didn’t want, she told me I had to be crowned queen, that was the tradition.”   
The man hummed and stared at the air for a few moments. Elise stood up, walking up to him, trying to find comfort in those difficult times.  
“Elise, I must tell you something.” The man told her.  
“What is it?”   
“I know that I won’t be able to be at your side, that I will still be a member of the court but not of your family and I also know from privates sources that you aren’t wise, unlike the deceased queen.”   
“What do you mean?” She asked, confused and started to be afraid of what he was going to say.  
“Let me finish. And you know that I’m great at handling political debates and diplomacy so the right solution for us is…”  
He stared deeply into her eyes.  
“For me to marry you.”  
She froze in place. She couldn’t breathe, couldn’t think. Was that a joke? No, he seemed serious about it and very determined too. She took a few steps back, staring at him with horror.  
“Do you realize what you just said to me?!” She finally shouted. “Do you realize that you just asked your daughter to marry you?!”  
“You are not my daughter by blood, only by feelings.” He calmly answered.  
“And do you realize that I’m sixteen, right? You realize that you’re very much older than me?” She asked again but there was no reaction from him. “You know what? You’re making me sick! You’re a danger for children.”  
“Do not say that! You owe me respect!” He screamed, pointing his finger at her.  
“When I will be queen and I will be, I will send you to prison for eternity.” She snarled. “I think I discovered your little scheme: you married my mother because you wanted to have powers, right? And now that she is dead, you can’t have powers anymore so you decided to wed the daughter. Ah, that’s petty. Very petty.” She growled while going out.  
Yves went to her and stopped her by grabbing her elbow.  
“Think of it, princess.” He dangerously whispered. “Marry me and you’ll be fine.”  
“Is that a threat?”   
“Maybe but watch your back. I will be king without or with marrying you.”  
“In your whish, scumbag.” She said back.  
Arnaud entered the soon to be queen’s room, with Thomas and Jacques, who held three objects in their arms. Elise was sitting on a banquette near a window, reading a book about legends of the kingdom. An elderly maid, miss Lézar, was there and knitted in silence, sitting on a rocking chair. The woman looked at him, then at the two young teenagers with a small and sad smile. The two boys put a knee on the floor and bowed their heads deeply. Arnaud put a hand on his heart and bowed too. The teenager dismissed them with a movement of her head and they stood up.  
“As the leader of the royal guard and as a friend of the deceased queen and king, I shall give you the three magic items that your father gave to me for you.” He spoke.  
Jacques, who was holding the biggest object, approached her and kneeled. Elise took the precious object in her hands and looked at from all the angles.  
“It is the Sun’s Bow, given to your family long ago by a magical being after one of your ancestors saved his life.” Arnaud explained. “You just have to pull string and a arrow made of light will appear. But you cannot use it under the moon’s light, only under the sun’s.”   
She nodded. Thomas approached with two small objects. Arnaud took one, a silver whistle and gave it to her.  
“This was given by someone extremely powerful to your great grandmother. Wear it around your neck and animals shall be friends with you. If you are in danger or need help, blow into it and a friend will appear.”  
“Can I talk with animals with that?” She questioned, wondering if she may talk to her mount.  
“No, I don’t think you can do that.” He replied while taking the last item, a dagger. “And finally, a magical weapon given by a strange man at your birth, he invited himself to the ceremony and said he was a great mage, wanting to give you a gift that would be useful for you in the future.”  
Elise took the dagger in her hands and tested it’s sharpness by putting her index on the blade. She winced when she saw blood dropping from her finger.   
“I have dozens of daggers. What does this one do?” She asked, a bit curious.  
“The man told us that if you could concentrate enough, it could change to different types of swords, like for example, to a rapier.” He replied.  
The two young knights were looking at the weapon, envious of a such object, that could be very useful on a battlefield. Elise closed her eyes and imagined a shortsword. She immediately felt the object changing in her hands, it was more heavy and she could heard the gasps of Thomas and Jacques, both amazed to see a bit magic for the first time. She opened her eyes and saw the shortsword and grinned. She stood up and made some movements with it. Miss Lézard reminded her that she had to do such things outside and not inside.   
It was the night before the coronation. Elise was trying to find some sleep but strangely couldn’t. She turned and turned in her bed before hearing some noises outside. It was steps and those steps were heading to her room. She groaned, knowing that Yves must have sent someone to murder her, already. What a jerk. He was just playing pretend all those years just to rule over a kingdom. She took the magical dagger and hide under her covers, pretending to be asleep. The loud wooden door opened and closed. She waited patiently before feeling someone touching the green blanket. She emerged and put the dagger on the throat of the person.   
“Monsieur Toutgent?!” She exclaimed, very surprised. “What are you doing here? At this time?”  
“No time for it, my queen. The ancient king, your step father, had sent assassins to kill you before your coronation. You must leave at once!” He said while putting objects in a leather satchel.   
“But… I can defeat them, can’t I?” She asked as she rose up from the bed.  
“No, I’m afraid you can’t. I caught him talking to them, I caught him doing black magic! He empowered them and casted spells on almost all the people in the court and the council. Everyone is against you and he plans on accusing you of doing some crimes. He also plans on changing the rules and he will uses all means for that. What a wretched man…”   
Elise stared at him, shocked to learn that. The older man seemed to be afraid of her safety but if he knew that, he must knew other thing?  
“Toutgent, did he kill maman?” She asked in a whisper.   
The man stopped what he was doing and turned to her. He sadly stared down at her.  
“I’m afraid so, my dear child. Now come, you must leave tonight and leave this kingdom. Take your gifts with you.”

She never ran on bare foots outside in her white nightgown and she would have liked it if she wasn’t running away from her murderous step father who also asked her to marry him, which was the creepiest thing she never heard in all her life. They dodged some soldiers and dark looking characters, which confirmed Toutgent’s claims. The round man led her to the stables and checked if someone was in there before inviting her inside. A black stallion was waiting for her, ready and she immediately recognized him.  
“It’s your horse, monsieur Tougtent.” She said to him, while stroking the black horse’s head.   
“Indeed it is. I give it to you. His name is Alexios. He is the stronger, fastest and bravest horse.” The man replied.  
Monsieur Toutgent took something from the horse’s stall and draped it over the teenager girl’s shoulders. It was warm and heavy but smelled a bit bad.  
“What is it?” Elise asked.  
“A donkeyskin, nobody will recognize you under this disguise. You look like a peasant girl, excuse me.” He developed. “Here, put the… hood on.”   
She did as she was told and touched the hood. She hold a scream when she felt the head of the donkey on her own head. She wasn’t used to have an animal skin on her and she felt disgusting. She now understood how the poor girls in the kingdom must feel when the princess was walking around and ridding her horse in front of their noses, in fine and warm clothing while they were in dirty clothes, with animals furs not very well cleaned and smelly. She stared at monsieur Toutgent with wide eyes. The round man sadly smiled and hugged her, sensing her being scared.  
“Leave the kingdom, go far away.” He told her softly. “You had to be in safety.”  
“I will but I will also return.” She declared with a determined voice. “I will take back the kingdom. I will save you all. I won’t let Yves rules.”   
“If he doesn’t have an heir in the following years of his coronation, you will have the right to claim the crown.” Toutgent explained. “As for me, I know that he must have sent some people to assassinate me.” He laughed. “And this is how my life will end. By defending the rightful ruler of my kingdom. Do not cry my child. And do not fear for you or for me. I know someday you will come back and avenge us all.”   
He helped her to climb on the horse and guided her to a secret door. The horse started to gallop faster and faster and Elise felt tears flooding from her eyes, the wind in her hair and slapping her face.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Autor notes: Sorry for a so long and shitty chapter. As you may have seen, I changed some parts of the fairy-tale: the dresses are now objects that will be used in the future and given by magical persons. I hope you liked this one and I also hope I didn’t make any mistakes ^^”. Have a nice day/afternoon/morning/night.


	3. Chapter Three

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Autor note: Advertisement for curses, bad words, some guys being creepy with a teenage girl and a battle scene with a bit of violence. Also, the chapter will be divided in two parts, one in the Enchanted Forest and one in Storybrooke. Just a warning.

A few weeks had passed and Elise was far away from her home. She successfully bought a small farm in the middle of a forest with some money she took with her and started to work, although she didn’t have any ideas of how to work. The old man which she bought the place to explained to her some things then went on his merry way. The teenager only went to the village when she needed it and people there called her “donkeyskin” because of her strange and smelly animal cloak. Some rich girls seemed to hold a grudge against her too but she didn’t knew why.

Alexios was grazing in an pen with a few sheeps and pigs and Elise was skinning a rabbit for her dinner. She was doing it very carefully, she once cut herself while doing it a long time ago. It was one of the hunters who showed her how to do that. The dagger in hand, she was so concentred on her work that she didn’t heard some horsemen arriving at the farm.   
“Well, well, well, look what we got there, men.” A man suddenly said with a crooked smile. “A lonely little girl in a forest.”  
Elise slowly turned around, her cloak trailing on the forest’s ground, hood on. Her bow was in the cottage so she couldn’t use it in case of a fight but she still had her precious dagger with her.  
“Or should I say donkey girl!” The man smirked.  
The others laughed with him as if it was the most hilarious joke they heard and the teenage girl rolled her eyes but gripped harder the handle of the dagger.  
“What do you guys want? Are you lost?” She asked.  
“No, we are going to the village, girl.” The man answered to her.  
“Then why are you staying there? Don’t you have business to attend to? Or do you like bullying little innocent girls like me?” She pouted slightly, of course it was an act.  
The men snickered. They all climbed down their horses and started walking around.   
“Say, it’s a beautiful stallion you got there.” The man with crooked teethes noted. “How much for it?” He asked her.  
“He’s not for sale.” She replied simply. “Now leave, you are disturbing my works.”  
They stopped immediately what they were doing. The man with crooked teethes approached her, annoyed by her behaviour.  
“Did you just gave us an order, girlie?” He questioned, angrily.   
“Maybe.”   
“Fucking slut, I’m gonna skin you alive!” He shouted as he reached for his sword.  
The other men took various weapons and started walking to her with their leader.   
“A lonely girl against six men? That’s not fair, let me call my friends.” She smirked.  
She took the silver whistled and blew into it. The men plucked their ears and a uncomfortable silence established in the small barn. Elise hoped and prayed that this thing will work because even she was a skilled swordswoman, she surely will have difficulties against them. Suddenly, a bunch of bears appeared and darted toward the group. The men screamed in fear and some of them tried to fight the beasts but it was no use. Elise changed the dagger to a longsword and attacked the leader. She dodged his attack and blocked his second, then she put her feet on his stomach and pushed him. He fell into a small water pool with a grunt and she sank her sword into his head. After that, she tackled another one and cut his arm then finished the work. Three men were being eaten by the bears and the rest were slightly injured and climbed on their horses and left the scene, shouting about how they will come back with more of their friends and made her regret what she had just done.   
“Well shit.” Elise said, looking at the mess in front of her.  
The bears went back into the forest, leaving the young woman alone once again. She sat on a log, wondering how she will hide the bodies of the dead men.   
“Oh, I can take care of that dearie.” A voice spoke from behind her.  
She jumped from her seat and took the longsword who changed to a rapier. A strange looking man was staring at the fallen leader and nudged it with his boot.  
“You are a good fighter, dearie.”  
“Who are you?” She asked.  
“How my, did I forgot my manners?” He made a fun little bow. “I am Rumpelstiltskin, but other people know me as the Dark One.”   
“The Dark One? You don’t seem so… dark.” She replied.  
The man sneered and clacked his fingers. The bodies disappeared in a puff of magic. She looked at him with wides eyes, mouth open.  
“Close that mouth or you will eat flies.” He joked. “Anyway, I see you seem to like my little gift. And wow, you grew up! Last time I saw you, you were a little baby who were sleeping in a silver and golden cradle. You were such a cutie back then… And now, don’t tell me I know what happened.” He mused. “Your mom died, your step father wanted to marry you, you said no, he wanted powers, sent assassins on your way, someone helped you escape and now, the strong and rich princess became the poor peasant girl wearing a donkeyskin… Such a shame.”   
“How do you know that?” Elise questioned.  
“Why, my dear! Have you already forgotten? I’m the Dark One and also, your fairy god father!” He exclaimed, dramatically.   
She stared at him in disbelief.   
“Ugh… What?”  
“That was a joke, dearie! Come on, to lighten the mood! Well, let’s get back to business! The reason why I am here is to make a deal with you, princess.” He said seriously while circling the younger girl. “I know you want to take your kingdom and the throne back and it is understandable. But you won’t be able to do all that on your own…” He murmured.   
She glanced at him and crossed her arms. The horse neighed in the background.   
“What do you offer then?”  
“I help you getting your kingdom back and in exchange, you will have to swear me your loyalty.”  
“You want me to be your mercenary?” She posed.  
“You could say that. So what do you say?” He said to her.   
“I need time to think…” She whispered while sitting back on the log.  
“You do not have time to think, dearie! It’s now or never!” He screamed, startling the younger girl.  
“Alright, deal.” She said, standing up and offering her hand to him.  
He smirked and made a paper appears in his hand with a feather.   
“You just have to sign it, at the end. Your name will be sufficient.” He instructed and she did as he told her, without reading the contract.   
“Now dearie, here’s your first task…”   
In Storybrooke, on a rainy day…

“Please Graham, don’t call Yves!” A teenager pleaded to an older man while he made her sat on a chair.  
“I’m sorry Elise, but I have to call him. He is your legal guardian.” The sheriff replied as he took a phone and stared to dial a number. “And it’s the third time this month I caught you stealing money from people, you should be glad nobody is pressing charges against you.”   
“Graham, please, I don’t want to be with him!” She said.  
The sheriff sighed and put the phone on the desk. Then he took a chair and sat in front of her.  
“Listen, Elise, I know your mother’s death had been hard for you but you were lucky Yves decided to adopt you.”  
“It’s not that the problem…” She whispered.  
“Then what is it?” The dark haired man asked, a bit worried by the behaviour of the young girl. “Elise, you can tell me.”  
“You won’t believe me…” She said, looking at him.  
“Of course I will. Elise, I know there is a problem. You have to tell me.”  
She took a big inhalation and started to talk:  
“After mom’s death, he started to act weird with me.”  
“Weird?”  
“Yeah, he spies on me, wants me to stay inside, to always be with him… He even asked me to sleep in his bed, at his side! When I refused, he told me that he would lock me up in the basement until I’m twenty one and then, he will marry me! Graham, I don’t feel safe anymore. I want to be away from him, please don’t call him! I will do anything!” She pleaded again.  
The man rubbed his chin, meditative. The story of the girl was indeed very odd but he could tell and sense that she was saying the truth. She had lied to him in the past to avoid problems but he knew her as a honest girl. He suddenly had an idea.  
“Elise, I’m calling to call someone, okay? Stay here and be quiet.” He told her.  
Graham took his personal phone, went in another room and dialled a number.   
“Hello?” A tired and feminine voice asked. “What is the matter, sheriff?”  
“Good evening, madame Mayor. Sorry to disturb you at such hour but didn’t you told me a few days ago you were searching for someone to look after Henry when you weren’t here?”  
There was a silence.  
“You found someone? Who?”  
“I think you know her. Her name is Elise Valois, the daughter of the deceased Annabelle Valois, the ancient owner of the jewellery. She… She needs a place to stay and I think she could be a great babysitter for Henry.”  
“What do you mean, she needs a place to stay?” The mayor inquired. “Doesn’t she have a parent or something?”  
“Yes ma’am but… I really will appreciate it if you take her under your care. She is a nice girl, she just needs to be away from someone for a while.” He tried to explain. “The person she stays with may be dangerous to her, I need to do some investigations but she is deadly afraid of this person.”  
“Oh I see… Fine, I want to meet her tomorrow morning, at ten o’clock at my house. Is that fine with you?” She asked.   
“Yes, yes it is fine.” He smiled. “Thank you, Regina.”   
He hanged and went back to the teenage girl, who was playing with some pens. She stood up and stared at him, with big hopeful eyes.  
“The mayor wants to meet you tomorrow at her house, at ten o’clock. I will pass by your house to take me with you and bring your things, just in case she decides to hire you.” He said to her.   
“Wait, what is the job?”   
“Babysitting.”   
She frowned.  
“I will have to babysit a ten years old boy, the mayor’s son?”   
“Do you want to stay with Yves?”  
She murmured some curses. Graham rolled his eyes. Typical teenager.   
“Need a ride?” He asked her.  
“Yeah. That would be nice.”   
The two excited the sheriff station.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author note: I hope you liked this one and I also hope I didn’t make any mistakes ^^”. Also, I accept criticism so don't be afraid to let a review! Have a nice day/afternoon/morning/night.


	4. Chapter Four

Donkeyskin  
Chapter Four  
One night, in front of the Mayor’s House, Storybrooke…

“Thank you for driving me back home, Brad.” Elise said while opening the passenger’s door.  
“Your welcome, El’.” The brown haired boy replied with a smile. He leaned closed. “So, can I get it?”   
“What?”  
“A kiss. A goodbye kiss.” He smiled.   
The teenage girl huffed.   
“Brad, Chloe’s party was nice and all but I thought we agreed to go as friends.”  
“Calm down, I was just… kidding.”   
She stared at him for a few seconds before reaching for her purse. She took a piece of paper which had a number on it. She gave it to him.  
“Here.”   
“Whose number is that?” He asked, inspecting the paper.  
“Amanda Turner. Don’t play dumb Brad, I know you like her and she likes you. So you better text her tonight and asks her on a date.” She said seriously.  
Brad turned his head with a small grin.   
“Goodnight El’.”  
“Goodnight Brad.”   
The car rushed on the road and Elise walked toward the front door and tried to open it discreetly, not wanting to wake up Henry or Madame Mayor. She closed the door and took off her high heels.  
“He’s a nice and cute boy.” A voice said from the shadows.  
Elise let a small scream, startled and put her hand on her heart to calm down when she realised it was only Regina Mills, the mother of the boy she was babysitting presently and living with.  
“Yeah, he’s nice but not my type.” The girl whispered. “Are you not supposed to be in bed?”  
“I’m an adult, I do what I want and I see you respected your curfew, unlike last time. Henry is sleeping but he still is acting weird.” The older woman sighed.  
They both sat on a sofa.  
“He doesn’t want to hug me anymore, he doesn’t want me near him… I don’t know what happen! One day, he’s fine, smiling, we’re talking together and the next, he avoids me as if I was the plague.”  
“I’m sorry Regina. I don’t seem to have a problem with Henry but I will try to talk to him if you want.”  
The mayor smiled softly at her. Since the day the two met thanks to Graham, they immediately took a liking toward each other. Regina saw her as her daughter while Elise saw her as a mother figure. The teenage girl was also a great help around the house, she could keep Henry every time Regina was working late or going somewhere. The girl yawned and Regina chuckled seeing her tired face.   
“You should go to bed.” She sweetly murmured. “Have a nice rest. Tomorrow, I have my annual meeting with Mister Gold. He wanted me to bring you along but I told him that I will never force you to do what you don’t want to.” The mayor added.  
“I don’t know what he wants with me.” The teenager grumbled. “He’s always behind my back, watching my every move. It’s creepy.”  
Regina agreed by nodding her head.  
The morning after, Elise woke up by hearing her phone vibrating on her nightstand. She took it and sighed angrily when she saw that Yves texted her again. She ignored and erased the text and looked at the hour. Nine o’clock. The teenage girl stood up from her bed and put on her slippers. She went toward Henry’s bedroom, to wake him up since the two had a busy day, which included playing video games, eating pancakes, doing their homework and playing video games again. She frowned when she saw that the door was open and no sound was coming from it. She entered the neat bedroom and so that Henry wasn’t here. She rolled her eyes.  
“It’s too early to play, Henry.” She declared. “You can come out now... And if you don’t, I will tell your mom about your secret reserve of sweets.”  
No sound, no sounds of foot running the corridors. It was weird, very weird, strange and troubling. The teenage girl started to search around the house but she found so sign of the little boy. She rummaged around, looking everywhere, even in the cupboards! At some point, she took her phone and called Regina.  
“Elise? Is there a problem?”   
“Oh my god, Regina, Henry’s not here! He’s gone!” She said hysterically.   
“What?!” The woman exclaimed, worry in her voice.   
“I searched everywhere, I can’t find him!” The teenage girl added quickly.   
“Call Graham now! I’m coming.”

The two women were pacing, under Graham stare. They were both very worried and he could see the guilt in Elise’s eyes. The girl blamed herself for Henry’s   
“After what I recorded, he must had run away.” He stated. “He took money, Elise’s credit card, some clothes…”  
“Why would he do that?” Regina asked the sheriff.  
The latter shrugged.  
“I don’t know. The two of you didn’t notice a strange behaviour?”   
Elise glanced at the mayor who didn’t know if she had to tell the truth or just tell a lie to the officer.  
“Well… I don’t think so…” She stared, uneasy, arms crossed.  
“I’m so sorry Regina…” Elise said, tears in her eyes. “I should have get up early, I should…”  
“Elise, it is not your fault.” The older woman replied to her and hugged the teenage girl. “Henry will come back home, I’m sure of it. For you, he will.”  
On cue, the three of them heard voices from outside of the house, a young and feminine one and a young boyish voice who seemed to argue with each other. Elise ran toward the door and opened it quickly. Despite the darkness, she recognised Henry next to a blond woman, dressed with a red leather jacket. The mayor appeared next to her and started to run toward the young boy.  
“Henry! Are you okay?” Regina exclaimed, as she rushed to him, Elise on her heels.  
“Where have you been?” Elise asked, relieved to see him safe and sound. “We were so worried about you!”  
“I found my real mom.” He said spitefully, staring at Regina before rushing in the house.  
Elise turned to the young blond haired woman, shocked of what Henry just revealed. She knew Henry was adopted by the mayor but still, she didn’t think he would go to search for her birth mother. Regina stepped toward her.  
“You… You are Henry’s birth mother?”  
“Hi.” The stranger greeted, a bit uneasy about the awkward situation.  
Graham coughed lightly.  
“I'll just go and check on the lad, make sure he's all right.”  
Elise stared at the stranger and crossed her arms. The two women talked a bit more before Regina invited the woman to come over, to drink. Sheriff Graham excited the house and told the teenage girl that Henry wanted to talk to her. She thanked him and went inside, climbed the stairs and went toward Henry’s room, a bit angry.

The boy was sitting on his bed, reading a comic book. He clearly didn’t care about the fact that she and his adoptive mother were truly concerned about him and his sudden disappearance.  
“Henry! Are you serious?!” She nearly shouted.   
He looked at her as she had no right to be angry at him. She closed the door and put her hands on her hips.  
“I’m sorry for your credit card. I used it.” He said.  
“I don’t care about that! Do you realize how me and your mother were worried about your disappearance? And where did you go? Where did you find your birth mother?”  
She stopped for a moment before asking another question:  
“How did you find her?”  
“Come on Elise! I already told you why!” The boy told her a bit exasperated.   
“Henry, you should stop reading this book your teacher gave you! Fairy-tales don’t exist, as well as their characters.” She replied, irritated by the boy’s behaviour. “And you should grow up.”  
The young boy pouted but took her hand and made her sit next to him.   
“Listen to me, Elise. You are Donkeyskin! A princess who runs away from her kingdom and swears to get it back from your evil step father!” Henry smiled at her, trying to convince her. “You have to believe me, you always do normally. But I understand that you don’t, you can’t remember what happened. But don’t worry! My mom is here to save us, she’s the Saviour!”   
“Very funny, Henry.” Elise said to him in a serious tone. “I’m going to sleep. I’m tired. I was worried about someone really close to me, if you see what I mean.” She glared at the boy and exited the room.  
Elise was doing her homework when her phone started vibrating. She answered it without looking who was calling her.  
“Hello?”  
“Good evening, Elise.” A strong and collected voice said.  
She stopped breathing and put her pencil on the copybook. She checked who it was to be sure.  
“Yves. Why are you calling me? I have a restraining order against you, if you try anything, I will call sheriff Graham and he will put you in jail.” She growled.  
“Calm down, princess. I just wanted some news. So, how are you doing?”  
“Wait, are you freaking serious?! You threatened me to enslave me! You…!”  
“You know, I was wondering why you answer me… If you hated me so much, like you attested it to our dear sheriff, then why you are speaking to me, at this moment?” Yves asked.  
The teenage girl closed her eyes and took a big breath. He was playing with her and her mind.   
“Stop calling me.” She declared.   
“No.”  
“Then I’ll call Graham.”  
“If you think you can get me to prison, you are very wrong, ma chère.” Yves seemed very satisfied. “I have one of the best lawyers in all Storybrooke. Not even mister Gold is safe. Not even your new mother the mayor…”  
“What do you want from me, Yves?” Elise asked, giving in.   
“Dinner. You and me, at our house. Come alone.” He instructed.  
“I can’t. I have school tomorrow and I have to watch Henry.”   
“No you don’t.” The man angrily spit. “Come back home, girlie. I need you.”  
“I won’t, I fucking won’t. I’m calling Graham on you.”  
She hung up swiftly and sighed. Yves was trying to get inside her head, playing tricks. She wasn’t really scared of him… Well, she was afraid enough of him to call Graham. The man understood quickly what happened and told her he will try his best to do something, but that won’t be easy because of Yves’s lawyer. Elise let herself fall on her bed and dropped her phone somewhere.   
Her day at high school wasn’t that bad. Brad and Amanda were the newest couple and everybody were either talking about the mysterious blonde woman or Chloe’s party. The teenage girl said goodbye to her group of friends before starting to walk to her home. A car slowed down next to her and she huffed and she decided to ignore it. The window rolled down and Yves was there, driving with sunglasses.  
“Hello Elise. Need a ride?”  
“I thought the sheriff told you to stay away from me.” She said, walking faster. “Creepy old bastard…” She cursed, whispering.  
The car stopped abruptly and Yves went out. The teenage started to run to escape from him, she didn’t want him to be near her, she didn’t want to see him. He jogged to her and grabbed her by her forearm. Elise trashed around and tried to hit him but it was no use: he was physically stronger than her.  
“You are coming with me!” He snarled, pulling the young girl toward the yellow car.  
“No! Let me go!” She shouted.   
She wanted to scream for help, she wanted someone to help her and fortunately, someone had seen her.  
“I will advise you to do what the young one told you, mister Valois-Baillet.” A stern voice said from behind Yves. “Or do you want me to call the police?”   
They both turned around and Elise was relieved to see Mister Gold, standing there in the middle of the pavement, both hands on his walking stick. Yves let the teenage girl go and she quickly went next to the older man who was glaring at Yves. The latter went back to his car and pointed a finger toward the girl.  
“It’s not over, Elise.”   
And he drove off. The teenage girl shook her hand and looked at Mister Gold.  
“Thank you so much.” She thanked. “I… I thought he was going to take me back home.”  
“No worries, Elise. Let me walk you to the mayor’s house. I need to drop some documents for her.”   
Normally she wouldn’t agreed but she didn’t really feel secure being alone, she feared that Yves might come back to try to kidnap her once again.  
“Sure.”   
They both started to walk.  
“So, did you met her?” He asked.  
“Who?”  
“Miss Emma Swan, the birth mother of Henry.” He developed with a cocky grin.   
“Oh her. Yeah, I met her. Henry… I don’t know what’s up with him.” She replied.  
“What do you think of this new inhabitant?”  
The teenage girl grimaced.  
“Is she going to stay here?” She frowned.  
“By the look of it, I believe so.” He said to her.  
“Ugh… Those two will bicker about who’s Henry’s real mom and I will have to separate them if they want to fight, great.” She groaned.  
Mister Gold laughed. They were near the mayor’s house.  
“You are not happy that she is among us.” The older man noted.  
“I don’t know what to think about her. She just arrived one night to bring us Henry and…”  
“Sorry dearie, but I need to get back to my shop.” He interrupted her while checking his watch. “Would you be a nice girl and give those papers to Madame Mayor?” He asked her, handing her the aforementioned papers.   
“Oh sure.” She smiled to him, taking them. “Don’t worry, I won’t see what those papers are about. I’m more than that.”  
“I know you are, Elise.” He grinned to her before turning and walking away.  
Elise opened the door and went right away inside Regina’s office, where she put the papers on the desk with a note saying that Mister Gold gave it to her.   
“What are you doing here?”   
She span around, seeing the mayor arms crossed and looking a little annoyed. Elise pointed to the papers.  
“Uh… Mister Gold gave me those.” She said. “Yves tried to kidnap me today.” She added, lowering her head, a bit ashamed.  
“What?” Regina asked in disbelief. “Are you okay?” She asked then, worry in her voice.  
“Yeah, I was so scarred Regina… But Mister Gold helped to get out of this situation.”   
“We have to do something. This man is getting dangerous and he’s going to hurt you if we let him do whatever he wants.”  
“Regina, we can’t do anything. He got power around.” Elise said, sitting down on Regina’s chair.  
“But I do too. And I’m sure Mister Gold will be okay to help us. I think he likes you, as a daughter I mean.” She said. “I don’t know where come from this affection toward you but he seems to appreciate you. Anyway, Henry ran off again. I don’t know what happened, but he wants to be with his birth mother, the one who abandoned him.” She sighed. “Looks like this goddamn book is altering his sense of reality. He thinks I’m the Evil Queen from Snow White.”  
“Yeah, he told me I was Donkeyskin.” She chuckled. “Who gave him the book?”  
“Blanchard.”  
“His teacher?”  
“Yes. This woman is also getting on my nerves. I will deal with her later.”  
Elise acquiesced before standing up.   
“I need to do my French homework. If you need me, call me, I’ll be in my room.” She said, leaving the office. 

Some minutes later, she heard someone walking in the corridor, toward her bedroom. The door opened, revealing Henry, who collapsed on her bed. Elise rolled her eyes.  
“Where did you go? Your castle?”  
“Yes.”  
“Your mom was worried. You should talk to her. She isn’t evil you know. It’s just stories.” She tried to tell him.  
“How many times should I say it to you? She is the Evil Queen! And she casted a spell upon all the characters of the fairy-tales world so that they won’t remember who they are and changed their personalities and histories!” Henry exclaimed, turning on his belly to take a book from her nightstand.  
The boy noticed some fingers marks on her forearm and frowned.  
“Did you fight with someone?” He asked.  
Elise turned back to work and was silent.   
“Was it Yves again?”  
“Henry, it’s none of your business!” She suddenly cried.   
The little boy seemed to be afraid of her sudden change of behaviour and stood up.  
“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to…” Elise whispered.  
“It’s okay, I understand. I will talk about it to Emma, if you want. She can help you.”   
The teenage girl laughed and stepped toward the little boy. She playfully ruffled his hair, which made him giggle.  
“Thanks Henry, but I don’t know if it will help. Sheriff Graham and your mother as well as Mister Gold are trying to find legal solutions to put Yves in jail.” She explained.   
“You know, Donkeyskin always had a strange relationship with Rumpelstiltskin.” Henry started. “In the book, you and him were nearly father-daughter if you see what I mean but seems he would send you doing some of his dirty works, well I don’t think it can apply…”  
“Yeah, yeah, whatever you say, boy. Now, go do your own homework or I won’t play with you.”  
The boy pouted but obeyed nonetheless. He knew she didn’t believe her but he was sure she will, just like all the others.   
At night, Elise laid in bed, texting her friend Heather about the big party at Ryan’s house, one of their mutual friends. She still needed Regina’s authorisation but she was sure she could get it easily. She ignored and erased every message Yves was sending her, as well as his calls. She put her phone away and sighed, closed her eyes and fell asleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Author note: I feel like I rushed a bit when I wrote this chapter but I wanted to set the dynamic between Henry and Elise, Gold/Rumpelstiltskin and Elise and Regina with Elise. As you can see, Elise seems to not like Emma but I will develop that later. I hope you liked this one and I also hope I didn’t make any mistakes ^^”. Also, I accept criticism so don't be afraid to let a review! Have a nice day/afternoon/morning/night.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading my story, and sorry for any mistakes. English is not my first language. I like criticism so if you want to leave a comment you can ^^


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